FAQ's

How long has Pathfinders Adventure Camp been around?

      Pathfinders Adventure Camp was started by the Mayor's Youth Services Bureau in 2002. The camp was formerly called City Kids' Adventures and became a full summer day camp program in 2008. the program has evolved over the years and has been hosted at several schools in Stamford, including Cloonan Middle School, Westhill High School, J.M. Wright Technical High School, and our current location at Hart Magnet Elementary School.

When can I register my child for camp?

      We are currently accepting registration for summer 2012. Space is available on a first come first serve basis. If a particular week is full we can add you to the wait list and we will inform you if space becomes available. Registration can either be mailed in, or dropped of at the Youth Services Bureau office in Government Center. We accept credit card, cash or checks for payment. All checks should be made payable to The City of Stamford.

How do campers sign up for their activities?

On Monday mornings, all campers choose to be in one of five sign up groups.  Campers stay in their group for the entire week and they sign up with their group.  This allows campers to be able to sign up for activities at the same time as their friends.  Once sign up groups are established they stay in the same group for the whole week.  Groups will be called up twice daily to sign up for activities, once in the morning and again after lunch. The order that the groups are called rotates throughout the week to keep the sign up process equitable.

Who are the camp counselors?

The camp staff is made up of four types of counselors.

• Instructor Counselors are adult staff, typically public school teachers or certified professionals,  which provide instruction in certain activities such as culinary arts, dance & drama, arts & crafts, and fitness training.
• Adventure Counselors are adult staff that facilitate all of the adventure activities such as rock climbing, mt. biking, hiking, canoeing, & ropes course programming.
• Assistant Counselors are high school or college age staff that provide additional asssistance and supervision for adventure and instructional activities.
• Counselors in Training are 15 yr old youth training to become full counselors either with us or other camps by assisting staff in a variety of activities including activity supervision.

How many campers attend Pathfinders Adventure Camp?

There are 120 campers in attendance each day.  The camper community will change weekly based on camper registration.  Last year, a majority of the campers did at least 4 weeks.

What is the counselor to camper ratio?

The counselor to camper ratio is approximately 1:5.  On any given day there are between 22-25 camp staff to supervise 120 campers.

What does a typical week at Pathfinders look like?

Most activities are offered several times per week.  The only exception to this is the rock climbing trip and hiking trip.  Rock climbing trips to Farmington, CT will take place on Wednesdays and hiking trips to the Westchester Wilderness Walk in Pound Ridge, NY will be on Fridays.  Because of the wide range of activities, campers can go through a week without repeating an activity.

How do campers get to their offsite activities?

Many of the activities take place at Hart Magnet or in Scalzi Park.  Campers walk to their activities in Scalzi Park.  Campers participating in offsite activities such as mountain biking, canoeing, or swimming will be transported by bus or van.

What do campers eat for lunch?

Lunch is provided by Chartwells Food Services, which is the same organization that provides lunch for Stamford Public Schools during the academic year.  Cold lunches (sandwiches) are served on Mondays and Fridays and hot meals are served on Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday.  Lunch is provided at no addtional charge.  Campers can choose to bring their own lunch if they hate "school" food, and we highly recommend that campers bring snacks.  Snacks will not be provided by the camp.

How do we take advantage of the bus to and from camp?

Bus transportation to and from camp is provided to campers who reside in Stamford.  The bus does not go door to door, but rather has designated stops throughout Stamford.  Once the bus schedule is published, campers should find the pick up location and time closest to their homes.  There are three buses used for transporting campers and the schedules will be available in June.  The bus routes may not work for all campers and it is very difficult to make changes to the bus routes.  Please indicate whether or not you intend to use the bus on the registration form.  If you answered no to using the bus, but change your mind before June 1st, contact Justin at 203-977-5361 to make the adjustment.

Can I sign my child up for additional weeks once camp has started?

Parents will not be able to sign their children up for more weeks once camp has started.  In previous years we have allowed it, but found it to be logistically difficult and we don't expect there to be any open spots once camp begins.

What do I do if our summer plans have changed before camp starts?

If you need your camp tuition refunded, a request must be submitted in writing by June 15th.  If you need to make a change the weeks that your child is registered for, a request must be submitted ASAP.  We will make every effort to accommodate the necessary change.  However, if a week that you want your child to switch to is at capacity, we will not be able to faciliate the request.

When will we receive more information about the camp?

A list of camp guidelines and expectations will be available at the time of registration and on the camp website.  We will host a camp orientation meeting for parents and campers at Government Center the week before camp begins.  Notification of the time, date and location of the orientation will be posted on the camp website as well as emailed and mailed to all camp families in June.

Who do I contact if I have more questions?

If you still have questions about the Pathfinders Adventure Camp, direct them to:

Justin LaBaire
Mayor's Youth Services Bureau
Adventure Program Coordinator
203.977.5361
jlabaire@ci.stamford.ct.us